I. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to methods of removing phosphorus compounds from liquid hydrocarbons, including, for example, an oxidative method of removing phosphines from liquid hydrocarbons, such as byproducts from propylene metathesis production processes or olefin conversion technology, including mixtures resulting from the production of butenes.
II. Background
Tighter specifications for hydrocarbon-based fuels is one of the driving forces for the removal of phosphorus impurities from liquid hydrocarbons and fractions that are used to make hydrocarbon fuels, such as kerosene, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, etc. Hydrocarbon effluent from the propylene metathesis production process or olefin conversion technology, which is a liquid hydrocarbon comprising longer chain hydrocarbon olefins (C≧4), is one of the feedstocks that is blended together with other hydrocarbon fractions to make, for example, gasoline. One source of the hydrocarbon effluent from propylene metathesis production or olefin conversion technology is as a byproduct from the production of butenes (useful for making propylene) from the dimerization of ethylene. When catalysts using phosphorus-based ligands are used in the butenes manufacturing process, the resulting liquid hydrocarbon may contain phosphorus compounds, for example, as free ligands. In some cases, the presence of these phosphorus compounds impurities may make the liquid hydrocarbon less suitable for blending into gasoline. Methods for effectively and efficiently removing such phosphorus compounds from liquid hydrocarbons are therefore desirable.